Earthworm (Eisenia andrei) Avoidance of Soils Treated with Cypermethrin.docVIP

Sensors 2011, 11, 11056-11063; doi:10.3390/s111211056 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Earthworm (Eisenia andrei) Avoidance of Soils Treated with Cypermethrin Ana Paula A. de Sousa 1 and Mara M. de Andréa 2,* 1 Prefeitura Municipal de S?o Paulo, Av. Prof. Jo?o Batista Conti 331, CEP 08255-210, S?o Paulo, SP, Brazil; E-Mail: ana_pas1@.br 2 Instituto Biológico, Lab. de Ecologia de Agroquímicos, Av. Conselheiro Rodrigues Alves 1252, CEP 04014-002, S?o Paulo, SP, Brazil * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: andrea@.br; Tel./Fax: +55-11-5087-1756. Received: 11 October 2011; in revised form: 11 November 2011 / Accepted: 22 November 2011 / Published: 28 November 2011 Abstract: The pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin is used for agricultural and public health campaigns. Its residues may contaminate soils and the beneficial soil organisms, like the earthworms, that may ingest the contaminated soil particles. Due to its ecological relevance, earthworms Eisenia andrei/fetida have been used in different ecotoxicological tests. The avoidance of soils treated with cypermethrin by compost worms Eisenia andrei was studied here as a bioindicator of the influence of treatment dosage and the pesticide formulation in three different agricultural soils indicated by the Brazilian environmental authorities for ecotoxicological tests. This earthworms’ behavior was studied here as a first attempt to propose the test for regulation purposes. The two-compartment test systems, where the earthworms were placed for a two-day exposure period, contained samples of untreated soil alone or together with soil treated with technical grade or wettable powder formulation of cypermethrin. After 48 h, there was no mortality, but the avoidance was clear because all earthworms were found in the untreated section of each type of soil (p 0.05). No differences were found by t